Take a ride from Ho Chi Minh's international airport to the city center of District 1 and the signs of growing affluence are everywhere from posh BMW dealerships, to new luxury hotels.
Now as complicated zoning continues to create challenges for high end urban residential offering growing peripheral locations in outer areas is seeing a surge of high end property sales.
While Vietnam real estate has traditionally been a largely cash driven trade, financing is now coming into the broader market with down payments of 20-30% and 20 plus year terms.
It's doubtful that Uncle Ho would have agreed with Vietnam's current Western step into the material world
A formal market launch is being planned in October for Bangkok's The Residences at The St. Regis.
With a prime location on Rajadrami next to the BTS skytrain and just a few steps away from kissing cousins Four Seasons Bangkok and the Grand Hyatt Erawan the 53 units enjoy all the facilities and services of integrated St. Regis hotel.
Developer Minor International have taken a pragmatic approach to the marketing launch which will see these units fully complete shortly. The hotel is slated to open in January of next year.
Another upscale hospitality led residential project the Ritz-Carlton Residences will no doubt be looking at the sales pace of the St. Regis as will a Langham branded development on Sukhumvit which is still in early stages.
Luxury real estate agency Ocean Villas Group who have offices in Singapore and on the island have joined hands with acclaimed marketing guru Drayton Bird.
Bird is best known during for tenure as Creative Director at mega agency Ogilvy & Mather Direct. He's brand work includes stalwart names including Microsoft, Ford, American Express, British Airways and Nestle.
Rebecca Smith who heads up the real estate sales division for the agency has expressed optimism about the pairing as million dollar sales continue to trade despite wider market soft transaction sentiment.
This just in from the organizers, details have been announced today for the 2010 AOCAP Shared Ownership Confernce which is now coming into it's second year. Details are –
"All eyes in the Alternative Ownership industry are on Asia Pacific as more hotel owners and real estate developers look to new revenue streams. Supporting industry growth is the announcement by Absolute World Group of the second Alternative Ownership Conference for Resorts and Hotels – Asia Pacific (AOCAP) from 10-12 October at Millennium Resort Patong, Phuket, Thailand.
The interest in Alternative Ownership (Vacation Ownership, Fractional Ownership and Private Residence Clubs) has been increasing throughout Asia Pacific, especially in Thailand which has a high growth tourism industry. In a recent report on Shared Ownership by leading hospitality consulting firm C9 Hotelworks, it noted that the first half of 2009 saw Vacation Ownership sales volume of THB722 million and fractional property revenue of THB112 million on Phuket.
The report also found that 2007-2009 saw 22,410 Vacation Ownership units and 70 fractional real estate units sold on Phuket. The market in Thailand has grown since with a number of new Vacation Ownership and fractional offerings in Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket, while growth in the region continues apace specifically in Singapore, Malaysia and Bali. More regional developers are exploring Alternative Ownership business models.
"Following the success of the inaugural AOCAP conference in 2009, we are excited to announce AOCAP 2010 will take place 10-12 October in Phuket. Our goal is to introduce more delegates to the benefits of Alternative Ownership," said Bryan Lunt, Chairman and CEO Absolute World Group, founding sponsor of AOCAP.
The inaugural Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific was held in 2009 on Phuket Island. Leading fractional and vacation ownership operator Absolute World Group of companies, pioneers of fractional real estate in Phuket, are the founding sponsor of AOCAP. The event is also sponsored by Group Impact & Generator Systems Ltd, Brand Tango, Dial An Exchange, ICE Asia Pacific, The Escape, and Media Partners; Perspective International, Property Report South East Asia, Global Edge, FractionalLife.com and Phuket Gazette.
Alternative Ownership worldwide continues to show growth, bucking the trends of "staycation" and declining real estate sales of recent years. According to a recent report on the Australian and New Zealand fractional industry by RCI, the global industry saw rapid growth 2001-2007 even outstripping whole ownership growth, with peak sales in excess of USD 2.3 billion.
Bryan Lunt added, "Alternative Ownership is still relatively new to the Asia Pacific region which has been slow to adopt new revenue models. However, the last couple of years has seen exponential interest and Alternative Ownership models offer new revenue streams for hotel owners, operators and developers."
The concept of Alternative Ownership is believed to have started in Europe 50 years ago and today is a major part of the tourism industry throughout the continent. A report commissioned by FractionalLife.com and Northcourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions, 'Trends In Fractional Real Estate Report Europe 2009', found that the number of fractional resorts in Europe increased from 60 to 90 over 2008 and that additional locations for fractional residences in Europe remain in demand and it is anticipated there will be substantial market growth over the next five years.
In the US, the concept was introduced over 20 years ago and is today a significant revenue generator for the tourism and real estate industries.
Independent and major branded hospitality groups have entered the Vacation Ownership and fractional sales arena without hesitation, attracted by the additional revenue streams and enhanced profitability that Alternative Ownership offers.
A collection of minds, sharing ideas underlines AOCAP Conference 2010. Global industry experts will converge on Patong's Millennium Resort to share their knowledge about some of the hottest topics in the Alternative Ownership arena. Speakers from all areas of the resorts industry include Perspective International, The Registry Collection, RCI, Interval International, and the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council. Speakers will share their insights and analysis of industry trends.
Building on last year's highly successful event, AOCAP Conference 2010 provides a practical forum using case studies and operators' knowledge to bridge the gap between conceptualisation and implementation. Workshops are planned in both English and Thai language, allowing more detailed discussion in smaller groups and encouraging more in-depth evaluation of the benefits and implementation of Alternative Ownership revenue models, as well as providing a forum to answer any questions delegates may have. Networking opportunities are scheduled in the evenings giving delegates the chance to share experiences with other like-minded individuals in a more informal atmosphere.
Delegates for AOCAP Conference 2010 can book online now, at www.aocap.org – 8,000THB per delegate, with an Early-Bird offer of 6,400THB for bookings before 24 September 2010.
For more information <link>http://www.aocap.org*CLICK</link>
Leading Thailand retailer Central Pattana have announced the development of a THB 3 billion development in Surat Thani. Named CentalPlaza the complex will be the second largest shopping complex in Southern Thailand trailing only Phuket's Central Festival.
With a 62 rai site anchor tenant will be Robinson's Department Store with the first phase expected to open in Q2 2012.
Surat Thani is the gateway to resort destination Koh Samui and has a catchment area of 2.8 million in neighboring provinces.
The nearby beach areas of Nakhon Si Thammarat such as Sichon and Khanom have seen widespread land speculation in recent times with the target being long expanses of white sand beaches.
Mega retail projects such as this have been to be key demand generators for growth in other areas, so this looks to be an upward trend for Surat.
Despite a few isolated cases of developer defaults in the island's challenged condo market, consumer pain in something that can be felt increasingly around the globe.
Take for instance the glitzy luxury Cosmopolitan condo-hotel development in Las Vegas. With management by the Grand Hyatt flag and 2,600 units on offer, the original brainchild of entrepreneur Bruce Eichner has now seen the project revert to Deutsche Bank.
A number of very public legal disputes with disgruntled purchasers have placed the bank under the gun in media accounts. An assortment of well known personalities have issues comments about tying money up for a number of years and units still not being delivered.
Sounds familiar?
Property and the global financial crises have become unlikely bedfellows and for now until the larger outside world goes into an economic upswing expect more pain then pleasure for unhappy off plan investment and real estate buyers.
Developers and environmentalist's look set to do battle over the Provincial Government's sponsored dialogues on the existing General Development Plan 2005.
It's understood that new zoning regulations for the island are currently under consideration at the Ministerial level for Phuket. Tasked with this is the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning which fall under the Ministry of the Interior.
For real estate developers who have been hit hard over recent changes to Phuket's environmental act and then southern Phang Nga's new beachfront zoning amendment, expect more volatility in the near future as part of the land planning process continues to take on an aura of uncertainty.
Mai Khao's destination resort West Sands has debuted its move into the timeshare sector.
Christened West Sands Vacation Club the group has affiliated with international exchange provider Interval International. Heading up the management is Project Director Oliver Hartwig which includes staff who formerly worked at Marriott Phuket Beach Club.
Using a points based versus time/week interval scheme the new entry looks to provide alternative to Laguna Holiday Club, Marriott Vacation Club and Absolute World. There remains speculation that a large scale Thai based hospitality group will be launching their own program in the near future as well.
As the resort property market continues to remain challenging, moving pricing points to more bit size offering such as vacation ownership looks to target a wider base of business but at the same time requires volume trading which could encounter serious competition in the coming high season.
After a bull run in the largely domestically fueled Bangkok condo market there is growing concern about a possible bubble back of widespread speculation.
Industry estimates have placed levels as high as 25% where units are handed over to buyers and they continue to remain vacant.
A key hot spot of concern is on purchaser defaults where buyers walk away from down payments once interest rates go higher or else values start to drift.
As pricing continues to be robust in the nation's capital for many the 1997 Asian contagion continues to be an unwelcome ghost of the past.
